Career Advice for Lawyers by a Hiring Partner-
2008 ABA JOURNAL BLOG Nominated as
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Saturday, September 27, 2008

I've Returned

My loyal readers -- I have to apologize for being so out of touch. Next time I will try to give you word that I am taking a week or two off. Things were really busy at the firm, combined with recruiting and a death in the family -- not immediate family, but a close relative. Thanks for being patient. I am touched someone was concerned that I lost my job in the financial crisis. I'm fine, and thank goodness do not work at Heller.

It looks like I will have a lot of items to address. Someone asked about what is going on behind the scenes when you have come in for a callback, had what you perceive to be good interviews, yet haven't heard anything for a couple of weeks. You may still be in the running. In fact, we ding faster than we offer, in many instances. So, there's still hope. If you got a quick ding, it usually means it was not a fit. You had too many negative reviews, it was an obvious no go, etc. So, for those who haven't heard, what is going on?

Well, it could be a number of things. Perhaps the HP is out of town and needs to sign off. Or, HP wants to consult with a practice group leader of a group you expressed a strong interest in, and that person has been unavailable. It also may have to do with how the recruiting committee is run. Ours has weekly meetings. Unless we think we need to move on someone immediately (very special cases), we wait till our weekly meeting and then discuss each of the candidates who visited during the past week plus any we are holding. We may be comparing and contrasting students, and ranking our choices. We may decide to issue offer to Student A, but hold Student B and C, and ding D. If you just came in during the past week, we feel we can hold you longer than someone who was in a few weeks ago. Our recruiting coordinator may reach out to you to let you know you are still under consideration. This is to give you an update and possibly to get some sense of how your situation is panning out -- e.g., our coordinator will often ask you to let us know if you have an offer that needs action under the NALP rules -- that may force us to decide sooner. Finally, some firms have national recruiting committees in addition to local office committees, so they may need to wait until that meeting As I said, it can be any number of reasons.

You may wonder if the HP gets the ultimate veto. Again, depends. Someone may not "wow" me, but if everyone else loved them, I will go along. If it is more a split bag. Some people thought ok, others said "definitely offer," I may be the tie breaker. I try to be egalitarian on my committee to get different views and recognize that I tend to like a certain type of candidate and perhaps others like other types and different types will work fine in the firm.

So, what to do? After two weeks, it is AOK to check in with the recruiting coordinator, assuming that person was your main contact. Let them know you are still definitely interested. Don't look desperate, but do express your continued interest in the firm. Be respectful to the recruiting coordinator, these things are noted.

10 comments:

Anonymous
said...

I was wondering if the slowing economy and the new NALP rules have had any affect on how you are approaching recruiting at lower tiered schools? At my school, we had OCI and then "Resume Collection." Very few of the "Resume Collection" firms have contacted anyone in my school. Are firms waiting for the first round of offers to go and get accepted before deciding how many to offer at lower tiered schools.

thank you for all of your kind thoughts. Are you guys and gals still finding this helpful? Also, I really liked that people were answering questions while I was away. That is great that you were helping each other and I thought most of the advice given was pretty sound

I'm finding the blog still very helpful. I'd love to hear about life beyond a big firm, since most of us will not stay more than a few years. How can we make the most of our time at the firm, and could you talk a little bit about exit options? Maybe the pro's and con's of going in-house

HP - Yes, I am still finding this blog useful. Even though the advice given while you were away was sound, you still add an additional layer of transparency, detail, and nuance that an outsider cannot simply guess at. Plus, it's far better that you can confirm any advice in the comments!

As discussed a month or so before, it would be awesome if you can talk about issues beyond OCI so that those people who are fortunate enough to have found jobs can keep them and thrive in them!

HP- You've previously touched on this issue before - callbacks for students that don't meet the grade cutoff. Specifically, I'm very much below the firm's top 1/4 requirement - I'm just over median. I used a connection at the office to get the OCI screening interview. Also, one of my references is a client of the firm (though I never brought this up and never called on him to push me through). I thought I would get an OCI interview out of courtesy, but not the callback. Would a firm hand out an out-of-town courtesy callback? Or is it possible I'm actually being considered? Of some importance, the firm's HP conducted the OCI interview.

Thank you, this blog is VERY helpful. We appreciate it. Question after OCI: if we fail to get a summer position through the OCI/Callback process (presumably due to grades), what action would you advise? Mass-mail each and every firm possible ASAP? Or, put the search off and focus on grades in hopes of making a respectable improvement - and applying after Fall08 grades post (around the same time 1Ls get their applications going)? Is it fatal to hold off until January?

About Me

Yes, I am a hiring partner who felt that our latest generation of lawyers and law students really needed some advice and guidance. Who knew the economy would totally tank and they would REALLY need guidance? I just share some observations, some experiences, and some lessons mom and dad should have taught you. Come along for the fun! HP can be reached at: hiringpartneroffice@gmail.com